The sum of $3$ consecutive integers is $72$. What is the first number in this sequence?
Solution: Call the first number in the sequence $x$ The next integer in the sequence is $x + 1$ The sum of the $3$ consecutive integers is: $x+ (x + 1)+ (x + 2) = 72$ $3x + 3= 72$ $3x = 69$ $x = 23$ Thus, the first number is $23$.